St. Peter buried under the main altar (Altar of the Confession) in St. Peter’s Basilica

On my visit to the Vatican, I visited one of the holiest burial sites in the world—the resting place of Saint Peter, traditionally regarded as the first Pope and Bishop of Rome.

Originally named Simon, Jesus renamed him Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek), meaning “rock.” Peter was a Jewish fisherman who was called by Jesus to be one of the twelve Apostles and became a leader of the early Church. As many know, Peter famously denied Jesus, but he was later restored and went on to lead the burgeoning Christian community after Jesus’ resurrection, establishing the foundation for the Catholic papacy.

St. Peter was born in a fishing village called Bethsaida, located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 

In 1968, following the discovery of bones that had been transferred from a second tomb beneath the monument, Pope Paul VI announced that the relics of Saint Peter had been identified in a manner considered convincing. Circumstantial and archaeological evidence was presented to support this claim.

Shimon bar Yonah, born around 1 BC, and later known as Saint Peter, Peter the Apostle, Simon Peter, Simeon, Simon, or Cephas—and is believed to have died between 64 and 68 AD, at approximately 63 to 68 years of age.